The ROCTAPUS Closed-Circuit Television Program Final Report. Priority Country Area Program Evaluation Series: Report No. 10.

Lamont, Ann; Fowler, Clifford F.

Two 1980 surveys of school staff, team member interviews, and examination of project films and documents supplied information for final evaluation of the ROCTAPUS (Really Outstanding Color Television About Practically Unlimited Subjects) program, a closed-circuit, magazine format, videotaped, television series intended to enrich the experiential background of isolated, rural Queensland children in grades 5-10. With overall expenditures of $598,000 and approximately $1 per capita cost per viewing pupil per program, average cost of producing and distributing each program escalated from about $9,000 to $13,000 over three years and influenced the decision to discontinue the program after the 1981 school year. Although intended for grade 5-10 pupils, the regular audience of approxiamtely 11,000 included a greater proportion of year 3-4 pupils than secondary pupils, making production of material appropriate to such a wide range of ages difficult. In terms of program content, schools generally valued enrichment material above syllabus material. Audience participation was successfully emphasized, fostering a sense of belonging which aided learning. ROCTAPUS' usefulness was not merely restricted to areas where normal television reception was limited and great value was placed on ROCTAPUS by school staff, indicating that possible ways to defray the cost of similar programs should be further explored. (NEC)